Science and Conservation of water
Recently there have been huge concerns over the excessive use of water in Australia and the resulting impact on our environment. We all realize that it is necassary to preserve our water, especially since we live in the dryest inhabited continent. there are many ways that science can help us to do this.
Technology can help us to recycle waste water, storm water and rain water. what can happen is that there can be different systems for certain things that require water. this is allready often used in the home when basin water is reused in out toilets, a very clever idea since each flush of the toilet uses about 11 L of water!
Much of our water is supplied by the murray river. infact we are incredibly relient on it as it supplied water to.... towns and cities. But abuse and over use have left the murray damaged and the water flow disturbed. To help fix this problem it has been decided to drain a lake to help replenish the murray water flow. This is dirrectly related to science as i can't imagine it would be easy to transfer all that water without the use of very tecnologically advanced machinary. Plus scientists of many kinds to ensure the ecosystem isn't disrupted, especially a hydrologist to moniter the flow and determine safe amounts of water input and so on, as well as marine biologists to study the possible effects on the wildlife.
Science has recently been used in the Yarra Valley to help conserve our water. Tiny little sensors (called micro eletrical sensors) have been invented that can be placed at strategic places around a property that pick up all kinds of information such as wind speed and direction and air and soil moisture. this will help farmers to grow wine with less water and chemicals as they will know where irrigation is needed, often in advance. These sensors used to be big and expensive, but this newest model is a huge feat due to its size (4mm square) and lesser cost...